Chapter 61: The Prince is Envious

The little white ferret tilted its head, staring at Chu Li as if pondering her words. Chu Li was in no rush.

"I'll give you some time to think. Once you've decided, bring that pelt and come find me, and I will help your parents pass on peacefully."

With that, Chu Li stood up and stepped aside, leaving the little creature some space to think for itself.

Seeing that the little white ferret seemed to actually understand, Fu Heng looked astonished.

"Can you really communicate? Is this a special ability of yours, or can all high-ranking practitioners do this?"

Fu Heng remembered that the Grand Master kept a black cat by his side, and they seemed able to communicate with each other as well.

Seeing that Fu Heng was genuinely curious—the world of practitioners had always been a mystery to ordinary people—Chu Li explained, "It's not that I can communicate with it, but rather that it has gained spiritual awareness, understands human nature, and can comprehend human speech. If Your Highness is truly curious, you can try communicating with it yourself."

Chu Li actually wished she knew animal language, but unfortunately, she didn't possess such a heaven-defying skill. Among the arcane arts she had mastered, there didn't seem to be any similar spells. Perhaps she could find some time in the future to research and see if she could invent a talisman that allowed communication with living spirits.

Upon hearing this, Fu Heng walked over with genuine curiosity. Before he could even get close, the little white ferret bared its teeth at him and let out a low, warning growl.

Fu Heng sneered, "Little fellow, this Prince kills without blinking an eye. You'd better think carefully about how to treat me. Look at this sword—it's sharp enough to cut a hair simply by blowing on it, and slicing your throat would take no effort at all."

Chu Li: ...

Hearing this, the little white ferret nervously hid behind the small mound of earth, leaving only one eye exposed as it stared vigilantly at the sword in Fu Heng's hand.

Fu Heng let out a soft chuckle.

This was simply miraculous; the little thing actually understood human speech!

So, thinking further, he said, "How about you come with me? This Prince promises you good food and drink every day, leading a life of luxury that even the Great Immortal Yellow would envy."

This little creature looked immensely cute and could understand human speech. If he took it back and gave it to Li'er, she would surely like it.

With this thought, Fu Heng put away his sword with rare gentleness and made clicking sounds, beckoning the little white ferret just as one would call a puppy.

Seeing this from the side, Chu Li was almost struck dumb. Had this fellow been possessed by some sort of spirit? How was this completely unrelated to the cold and aloof Fu Heng she knew?

The little white ferret stretched its neck to sniff Fu Heng, then looked at him with an expression of utter disdain.

The scent of this human wasn't as pleasant as that woman's. Why did he smell so strongly of blood?

Its parents had told it to stay far away from humans like this; their hands were stained with blood, and they could even kill people, let alone little furry beasts like them...

What he said earlier about killing without blinking an eye seemed to be true...

Fu Heng caught the disdain in the little thing's eyes, immediately furrowed his brow, and stood up with a cold expression. He cast a condescending glance down, sneered, and walked away.

Such an unappreciative little creature! As a prince of his status, how could he lower his posture for a small furry beast?

Li'er probably wouldn't like such a tactless fellow anyway, so he decided to forget about it.

Chu Li witnessed the entire process of Fu Heng changing his expression and roughly guessed the reason for the ferret's disdain, prompting her to burst into laughter.

"Your Highness, it seems people aren't blind; they weren't fooled by your sweet words."

"Hmph, this Prince thinks it's too wild by nature and unsuited for being kept indoors."

Chu Li blinked. This fellow was stubborn to the bone; she had clearly seen him harbor the intention of adopting the little ferret just moments ago. Now that the abduction had failed, he was being all hypocritical.

While they spoke, the little white ferret had dragged its father's pelt over to Chu Li's feet, looking up at her with eager, pleading eyes.

Chu Li wasn't surprised. The little creature was very smart; it would definitely choose to follow her.

"Have you decided to come back with me?"

The little white ferret propped up its body, nodded, and then bowed to Chu Li, letting out soft squeaks.

As the little ferret gestured wildly, Chu Li managed to guess the gist of it.

"You want to find your mother's pelt, is that it? Don't worry, I know where it is. Just follow me."

Hearing this, the little white ferret bowed to Chu Li once more to express its gratitude.

Beside them, Fu Heng's eyes flickered continuously. He was overwhelmingly envious, but he refused to say a word.

Chu Li bent down and scooped up the little white ferret. The creature had a slender body, but being still a baby, its body and tail combined were only about the length of an adult's hand. The tip of its tail had a small tuft of black fur, looking just like the ink-stained tip of a writing brush—quite distinctive.

Placing it on her left shoulder, Chu Li picked up the ferret pelt and turned to Fu Heng.

"Your Highness, shall we head back to..." That place?

Fu Heng's gaze was fixed intently on the little creature on her shoulder, his eyes frighteningly bright.

Chu Li quickly turned sideways to block his fiery gaze and teased him.

"Is Your Highness envious? The Great Immortal is now this commoner's little pet; isn't it inappropriate for you to covet it like this?"

Chu Li was also baffled. She didn't remember this fellow liking animals. Given his cold demeanor toward everything, would he really be the type to like animals?

Fu Heng withdrew his gaze, pressing his thin lips into a straight line. It was his first time envying someone else so much, and having failed to mask it properly, he had been found out; but he certainly couldn't admit it.

"You misunderstood. Why would this Prince be envious? It's merely a little beast."

"Was 'Great Immortal' the name you gave it?" Fu Heng shifted the topic to ease the awkwardness.

Chu Li nodded and said, "It has a very strong bloodline of the Great Immortal Yellow. If it has the opportunity in the future, the possibility of attaining enlightenment and becoming an immortal cannot be ruled out."

Fu Heng looked at the little white ferret skeptically. "It? Are you overestimating it a bit too much?"

The Great Immortal squeaked furiously!

"Squeak, squeak!"

How dare this stinky man question the future Great Immortal Yellow? It was going to mark him with urine; from now on, he was the enemy!

While howling at Fu Heng, the Great Immortal propped its body up on Chu Li's shoulder, baring its tiny red mouth as it prepared to commit an uncivilized act against Fu Heng.

Seeing this, Chu Li widened her eyes and quickly grabbed it, pulling it down.

"Hey, hey, hey! Show some respect, kid! Do those kinds of unseemly things behind people's backs in the future!"

Goodness, this little fellow had quite a temper; offending it was no joke at all.

She used to let it be, but now, she was practically this little creature's master. Once it became her pet, it couldn't be so ill-mannered—she couldn't afford to lose face like that.

Fu Heng cast a sidelong glance at the human and the ferret, the sword in its scabbard stirring restlessly.

If his eyes hadn't deceived him, did that little beast just want to pee on him?

Chu Li forced an awkward laugh to smooth things over, hurriedly grabbing the back of the Great Immortal's neck and scurrying away in embarrassment.

She had a premonition that if she didn't leave now, the Great Immortal would end up being turned into a fur garment.

With a dark expression, Fu Heng followed behind with his sword a moment later.

So be it; getting a little beast that understood human nature wasn't easy, so he would spare the little brute for now.

The two humans and one ferret returned to the large boulder from earlier. Chu Li placed the ferret pelt upon it, then pulled a few small paper figures from her bosom and looked at Fu Heng.

"Your Highness, it's your turn. Care to lend a fire again?"